New Study on Monsanto Corn Suggests GMO Trees Could Devastate Forest Ecosystems

March 2012 Photo of the Month: GMO Protest, Sacramento, CA 2003. Photo: Langelle
Source of picture:   http://globaljusticeecology.org/photo_gallery.php?catID=27&ID=405

New Study on Monsanto Corn Suggests GMO Trees Could Devastate Forest Ecosystems

By Geobear7

Food Freedom News,   April 24, 2012

“Some trees are being genetically engineered to contain the Bt toxin,” notes Anne Peterman of Stop GE Trees.  “This could be a tremendous threat to forest ecosystem soils, in which beneficial fungi are a key component of the forest ecosystem.”

“ The feds have allowed seven southeastern states to plant GM forests. See Alien Forest, Alien Ocean, Alien Sky; and watch the award-winning documentary, “A Silent Forest: The Growing Threat, Genetically Engineered Trees” (2005, 46 mins) which details the appalling effects allowed by the Monsanto-owned federal government. (You can buy the full length film at Amazon.) ~ Ed.

By Ryan Villarreal

International Business Times

Bioengineering agricultural giant Monsanto has touted the safety of genetically modified crops, but a new study has found that insecticide-containing corn can be harmful to the overall health of soil ecosystems.
Genetically modified corn has been linked to a decrease in a subterranean fungus that forms a symbiotic bond with plant roots, allowing them to draw in more nutrients and water from the surrounding soil in exchange for carbon.

Researchers at Portland State University conducted a study to examine the effects of corn genetically engineered with the bacteria-derived insecticidal toxin, Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, on growth of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).

AMF is important for the overall health and fertility of soil ecosystems, and was found to form less bonds with the roots of Bt corn than with non-Bt corn.

“Because these fungi rely on a plant host for nutrition and reproduction, they may be sensitive to genetic changes within a plant, such as insect-resistant Bt corn,” Tanya Cheeke, a PhD student in biology at Portland State, told the American Journal of Botany.

Cheeke conducted the study as part of her doctoral research into the impact of genetically modified crops on soil ecosystems.

“What makes our study unique is that we evaluated AMF colonization in 14 different lines of Bt and non-Bt corn under consistent experimental conditions in a greenhouse using locally collected agricultural field soil as the AMF inoculum,” Cheeke told AJB.

Cheeke planted corn seeds containing the Bt gene and without it into soil containing AMF to simulate agricultural conditions on modern industrial farms.

Cheeke also tested AMF growth with other crops in soil formerly planted with both Bt and non-Bt corn. With soybeans planted in both soils, AMF root bonding was not harmed, leading Cheeke to conclude that the Bt gene was not directly toxic to AMF, but that its only known damage is to root bonding with Bt corn.

According to Cheeke, in 2011, 88 percent of corn cultivated in the U.S. was genetically modified with insecticides like Bt.


Full Press Release American Journal of Botany

Genetically modified corn affects its symbiotic relationship with non-target soil organisms

 

Experimental evidence reveals a reduction in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization of Bt corn

To read the entire article, please click on the link provided below:

http://foodfreedomgroup.com/2012/04/24/new-study-on-monsanto-corn-suggests-gmo-trees-could-devastate-forest-ecosystems/


The full article is available for no charge until May 17, 2012 at http://www.amjbot.org/content/99/4/700.full. After this date, reporters may contact Richard Hund at ajb@botany.org for a copy of the article.